Host Family 2015 Au Pair Agency Survey Comments

While most of the 15 U.S.A. au pair agencies receive mixed customer satisfaction ratings from host parents, there are 3 agencies that receive positive evaluations that are above average and deserve our recognition in our yearly Top 3 Au Pair Agency List for 2014!

Host Parent's Comments from our 2015 Host Family Survey:

"We love our au pair we received from this California au pair agency! She knows how to handle our child who struggles with autism."

"Our au pair spoke great English and could actually drive the family car with NO problems!"

"It is a small agency, but their staff is wonderful, they call back and they are extremely helpful with matching!"

"Our au pair was amazing and I can't thank our new agency enough!"

"We had a great experience with matching - staff are very patient and moved at a speed that was comfortable for us.

Host Parent's Comments from our 2014 Host Family Survey:

NUMBER 1 Winning Agency Host Parent Comments:

"Even though this is a small agency, they were always available to answer any of my questions and they did so in a super friendly and professional way - I would recommend them to any parent who lives in California."

"It was really quick to match with our au pair. Very impressive response!"

"Very personalized service."

"They are small but helpful, we could always talk to someone when we needed to."

"We have a great au pair who is wonderful in every regard."

"They helped us with a very homesick au pair and how to handle this."

Second Place Agency Comments:

"You can view au pairs without paying a fee, and I don't fee they are trying to nickel and dime you."

"We had 2 great au pairs from this agency and we found the office staff friendly and professional."

"Placement coordinator was helpful in expediting our pre-match candidate we had chosen from Au Pair World."

"Our local counselor was great and she really helped us match and to find a great driver."

Third Place Agency Comments:

"I have had au pairs from this agency before, and I think the girls are good people and care about children."

"Too many changes in Area Directors, had 3 in 2 months time..."

"Our au pair did not drive and her English was not up to our expectations - we were disappointed but we kept her and worked things out."

Programs That Did Not Make Our Top Au Pair Agency List (Host Parent Comments):

"The counselor give us hard time to rematch even though the au pair turned out to be party girl, chasing boys and "hot dad" around town with our kids in tow!!!"(East Coast Agency)

"Counselor was ineffective at balancing our au pair's local American boyfriend infatuation versus au pair's childcare responsibility and following house rules. She was also suggesting that we incorporate her boyfriend into our home life." (West Coast Agency)

"Agency was terrible - the au pair moved out in the middle of the night with 7 weeks on her contract. Initially, agency was helpfully, but local coordinator failed to follow up." (East Coast Agency)

"I was unable to match, despite paying an application fee, because there were too little candidates to view - the ones I did contact never emailed me back."

"In my opinion, this was a horrible, scarring experience for my family. Run away from this agency!" (Smaller agency in California)

"Stay away from this agency. They hire party girls who drive your kids while drunk and then sweep it all under the rug when the host family can't take the party girl anymore. They are going to get someone's child killed, soon." (Midsize agency on East Coast)

"Our au pair moved out in the middle of the night with 7 weeks on her contract. Initially, agency was helpfully, but local coordinator failed to follow up" (East Coast)

"Our disaster au pair from Brazil was too immature to take on our household. Our LCC was helpful and did email me and call me numerous times before we finally decided a rematch was in order." (Large Agency on East Coast)

"It should be a rule, every au pair candidate should have a video that is at least 2 minutes long. Stay away from this agency - they just copy the same information on every candidates applications - and I mean word for word." (California Agency)

"This agency lied about the Au Pair that I had which went into transition. The Au Pair was mean to my daughter & a licensed counselor recommended that the Au Pair returned home. Instead, our agency placed her with another family. The replacement Au Pair stole my credit card & left my daughter unattended while she stayed in the bathroom yelling at her boyfriend. I'm contemplating suing this agency for a FULL refund; instead of a partial refund! Horrible Agency!" (West Coast)

Au Pair Agency Rated #1 for 2013:

"My placement counselor always called me back and seemed to know the answers to our questions. We are a first time host family and we appreciated their great customer service!"

"This agency didn't forget us or our au pair after we matched - they continued to be available to us all year round, not like other, larger agencies who 'sell' you a contract and then ignore you after your au pair arrives."

"Yes, I would certainly recommend this smaller agency to other parents!"

"This agency was great, I could see all applicants without paying a fee, and they even gave me some extra applicants that hadn't made it onto the website yet and one of them is who we matched with!"

"This is a smaller agency, but we were very happy with their service!"

Au Pair Agency Rated #2 for 2013:

"We've had one amazing Au Pair and one not so amazing Au Pair."

"The majority of au pairs we hosted were just great!"

"The problem with this agency is they don't provide a score for English, they prefer you interview without knowing the English speaking status. Because I have a special needs child I pushed for matches of high English speaking ability and they obliged, however they were not going to at first."

"The most useful aspect was simply viewing dozens of videos of potential au pairs. This took considerable amount of time, but allowed us to get a feel for the au pairs faster than any other way we could find. There would be benefit to creating a stronger matching system - consider the methods used by Eharmony for instance, where they have each person take an extensive inventory - the more the two sides align, the better the chance of a match."

"I would recommend this agency to others."

"We need strong drivers and agency never disappointed."

"Thanks to Au Pair Clearinghouse, we found (this agency) and we are more than satisfied, we are overjoyed with our au pair - the kids love her!"

Au Pair Agency Rated #3 for 2013:

"I have been with cc for five years and customer service, or lack of as of now, is poor and the quality has gone down."

"We were first time hosts, specifically said we needed a good driver. None of the candidates we were matched were. Our au pair could not drive safely when she arrived. We paid for driving school to the tune of $600. Still had problems. Rematched and had the same problem."

"Our agency worked hard for us when we were in rematch."

"Au pair did not pick up our child from bus stop!"

"This agency's main office did not return my phone calls for over a week. Unacceptable and I switched to another agency when my contract was over."

"Local counselors are okay, but some of them are more like sales people, they are great about signing you up, promising you the moon, but really don't know how to solve problems once the au pairs arrive."

"My local counselor was great - but then she is a social worker so she knows her stuff - maybe all au pair agency 'counselors' should in fact be licensed by the USA government?"

"Refunds are not easy to get with this agency...."

"My au pair was good, and their service was fine - yes, I would recommend them to other parents."

"I have a special needs child and our au pair was terrific with her - I did work hard alongside my placement counselor to find her, and I advise ALL parents not to depend on your agency to get you that perfect au pair - you have to do the work too!"

To view complete reviews of each top agencyjoin now as a member and enjoy exclusive reviews, ratings, articles and interviews with au pair experts.

Have more control over your child's childcare options - do it your way to ensure that you sign up with the best au pair agency that will match you with the best au pair for your family!